Not Rohit Sharma or Ellyse Perry: Harmanpreet Kaur will become the first cricketer in history to…

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur is set to create a milestone on Sunday when she takes the field against South Africa in Manchester and becomes the first player – male or female – to feature in 200 T20 international teams.The milestone comes during the Women’s T20 World Cup and marks a journey that has spanned 17 years and spanned several generations of cricketers and the growth of women’s cricket on the global stage.Ireland’s Paul Stirling holds the record for most matches played in men’s T20Is (163), while Rohit Sharma is second in the men’s category with 159 T20Is. In women’s T20Is, Kaur is currently on top with 199 matches, followed by New Zealand’s Suzie Bates (184). Australian legend Ellyse Perry is fourth in WT20Is with 177 matches.Kaur made her T20I debut during the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup in England in 2009. Seventeen years later, she is gearing up for her 200th match in the format during the 10th edition of the tournament. Only six other players who featured alongside her in 2009 are still playing international cricket.The 37-year-old will lead India in the crucial Group A match against South Africa at Old Trafford.India’s bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi praised Kaur’s contribution to the game and the team.“I think Harman is a top-level athlete,” he said. “She is a role model for almost all cricketers around the world. The way she has conducted herself over the years, she has been a role model all the time. She has performed in any format. She is playing her 200th T20, that is a big thing. And we are all equally excited to watch her perform.”Salvi also highlighted the role Kaur plays in guiding the younger players.“And in terms of work ethic, he doesn’t stop working on the fundamentals. He shares a lot of experience with the youngsters. So that’s also a dimension he comes into. Sometimes there’s a lot of information available, but coming from someone who’s done so well at the highest level, it’s those little tidbits that he shares with players that actually help launch a lot of youngsters’ careers,” he added.South African all-rounder Chloe Tryon, who plays alongside Kaur for the Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League, also praised the Indian captain’s success.“200 games is a lot. She makes it sound easy. I had the opportunity to play alongside her, watch her do her thing. It was remarkable to watch her journey when I was a little girl too, just looking up to the big players. She was a role model for so many people all over the world. To see her still playing cricket is amazing and she leads from the front, which is really good, I know even more. 02. she can push herself but look, it’s great to see how the women’s game has grown and how it moved the game forward.”South Africa head into the competition needing a win after losing to Australia in their opening match in Manchester before beating Pakistan at Edgbaston.Meanwhile, India have won both their matches so far, beating Pakistan and the Netherlands.Despite India’s strong start to the tournament, South Africa have had the upper hand in recent encounters between the two sides. The Proteas recently won the five-match T20I series at home 4-1.